Democracy Now! Blog

Read an excerpt from the new book by Jonathan Katz, who will be on Democracy Now! Friday to discuss the aftermath of a the 2010 earthquake in which a quarter of a million people died. Katz explores the controversial claim that Western aid to Haiti is not always well intentioned.

When the Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature were unveiled on Thursday, Democracy Now! saw that we had interviewed the directors and subjects of three out of five selected films. Last year, we sat down with filmmakers who tackled topics ranging from rampant sexual assault in the U.S. military to the historic efforts of the early AIDS movement, to the nonviolent struggles of Palestinians against an Israeli separation wall. Watch our interviews with the makers of "The Invisible War," "How to Survive a Plague” and "5 Broken Cameras."

It takes courage to enter a war zone willingly, armed with a microphone and a camera as a journalist. That is what Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj was doing in Dec. 2001, as he was entering Afghanistan from Pakistan to cover the U.S. military operations there. While his colleague was allowed in, al-Hajj was arrested, in what was to be a harrowing, nightmarish odyssey that lasted close to seven years, most of it spent as prisoner 345, the only journalist imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay — without charge.

We continue our look at the massive bribery scandal behind Wal-Mart’s expansion into Mexico. "We found amazing instances of Wal-Mart building in places where, at least based on environmental rules or zoning rules or construction rules, they absolutely shouldn’t have been allowed to build. And yet, they pulled this off," says David Barstow, the New York Times reporter who broke the story. [includes rush transcript]

Amidst the White House and congressional theatrics surrounding the so-called fiscal-cliff negotiations, a number of bills were signed into law by President Barack Obama that renew some of the worst excesses of the Bush years.

Standing stalwartly against any regulation of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, the National Rifle Association continues to block any gun-control laws whatsoever, and even trumpets its efforts to block the global Arms Trade Treaty, slated for negotiations at the United Nations this March.

The New York Daily News has published a series of articles highlighting the work of columnist and Democracy Now! co-host Juan González. "It is hard to believe that 25 years have passed since Juan walked past the landmark globe in the landmark News Building on E. 42nd St. and took a desk in the seventh-floor city room, a newcomer from a Philadelphia newspaper," the editors of the paper wrote. "Juan came home to write a column. And write the hell out of it he did, as New York’s leading pro-left, pro-labor voice. Along the way, Juan became a beacon to whistleblowers and to wronged people for whom justice was lacking."

CODEPINK protesters interrupted the National Rifle Association’s event on Friday as the group held its first press conference since the Newtown, CT, massacre. During comments made by NRACEO Wayne LaPierre, one protester held up a banner reading, “The NRA is killing our kids," then another stood up with a banner that read, "NRA: Blood On Your Hands."

The initial shock of the latest semiautomatic weapon-fueled massacre has passed, but the grief only grows. Since President Barack Obama took office, there have been at least 16 major mass shootings, after which he has offered somber words of condolence and called for national healing. But what is really needed is gun control, serious gun control – as was swiftly implemented in Australia in 1996, after another gunman went on a senseless shooting spree.

The author of a new report on U.S. carbon billionaires gives Democracy Now! a tour of the Kochtopus — a map of the empire of Charles and David Koch. The Kochs run oil refineries and control thousands of miles of pipeline, giving them a massive personal stake in the fossil fuel industry. [includes rush transcript]

Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman spoke Saturday on Up With Chris Hayes about the role played by mental illness in attacks like the mass shooting Friday in Newtown, Connecticut and what society might endeavor to do differently to avoid these types of horrific attacks in the future. Click here to watch.

As Venezuela says President Hugo Chávez has undergone successful cancer surgery in Cuba, after disclosing that his cancer had returned, we revisit a 2009 interview in which he discusses climate change and President Obama. [includes rush transcript]

Curators at Smithsonian have included Democracy Now! co-host Juan González’s book, "Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America," on their holiday gift guide for history lovers. This comes as the film based on his book has won an award for the best use of archival footage at the International Documentary Association Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Twelve students have barricaded themselves inside a campus building of New York City’s Cooper Union demanding the school affirm its commitment to free education. Democracy Now! attended the protest to interview supporters rallying outside. [includes rush transcript]

Democracy Now! was there when workers at dozens of restaurants owned by McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell and others went on strike Thursday and rallied in a bid for fair pay and union recognition. [includes rush transcript]

A stunning indictment has been handed down in Cincinnati, focusing attention again on police killings of people of color. This is a start for accountability and justice. Cleveland should pay attention. As the thousand people gathered there last weekend said clearly, “Black Lives Matter.”

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